Género, identidad y ciudadanía en las obras de Anita Desal

Este trabajo es el resultado de varios meses de investigación en el que se analizan las cuatro obras de Anita Desai: “Voces en la Ciudad”(1965), “Fuego en la Montaña” (1977),“Clara Luz del Día”( 1980), y “Ayuno, Festín”(2000). Cada una de ellas pertenece a una década distinta y se sitúa en etapas concretas dentro de la producción de su autora, pero todas comparten una esencia común pese a tratar tramas diferentes y a centrarse en aspectos distintos de un mismo tema principal: reivindicar lo que en palabras de Desai parece una anomalía en cualquier país democrático que se precie de serlo, la invisibilización de la mujer en India: “I come from a country which prides itself on the fact that ever since it won independence from a colonial power in 1947, it has been a democracy...I cannot, however, claim that there is no suppression in India... There is a secret connivance at the taking away of freedom... for which a whole society, and its entire history with its burden of custom and tradition must be indicted.” (Anita Desai, A Secret Connivance en Radha Chakravarty, Figuring the Maternal: “Freedom” and “Responsability” in Anita Desai’s Novels, ARIEL : A Review of International English Literature, 29:2, April 1998, p. 75

Varriale, Gennaro. Mare amaro. I corsari barbareschi sull’orizzonte italiano del Cinquecento. Roma, Società editrice Dante Alighieri, 2023 (89 págs.)

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Impacto de la neumonía asociada a ventilación mecánica en la mortalidad de los pacientes con peritonitis secundaria

La infección nosocomial es la complicación más frecuente en pacientes hospitalizados ensombreciendo su pronóstico y, de ellas, la neumonía asociada a ventilación mecánica (NAVM) es la infección más frecuente en unidades de cuidados intensivos (UCI). La Peritonitis Secundaria (PS) es la infección intraabdominal más frecuente y la segunda causa de ingreso en UCI por sepsis. Sin embargo, sólo tres estudios y muy antiguos han realcionado ambas entidades en términos de mortalidad. Se plantea un estudio de cohortes prospectivo con una población de 418 pacientes ingresados en UCI tras cirugía por PS. Se realizan análisis univariante y multivariante para identificar factores de riesgo independientes de mortalidad y NAVM. Se encuentra una incidencia de NAVM del 9.6%. Los factores de riesgo de NAVM identificados son: peritonitis adquirida en el hospital, necesidad de ventilación mecánica >48 horas y alta puntuación SOFA. La NAVM aparece como factor de riesgo independiente de mortalidad.Departamento de Cirugía, Oftalmología, Otorrinolaringología y FisioterapiaDoctorado en Investigación en Ciencias de la Salu

The impact of Lactobacillus plantarum IFPL935 on the composition and activity of a complex microbiota developed in a simulator of the Human Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem

Trabajo presentado al European Network For Gastrointestinal Health Research (ENGIHR): "The Gut Microbiota Throughout Life" celebrado en Karlsruhe (Alemania) del 24 al 26 de septiembre de 2014.Peer reviewe

Finger and forehead PPG signal comparison for respiratory rate estimation

Objective: an evaluation of the location of the photoplethysmogram (PPG) sensor for respiratory rate estimation is performed. Approach: finger-PPG, forehead-PPG, and respiratory signal were simultaneously recorded from 35 subjects while breathing spontaneously, and during controlled respiration experiments at a constant rate from 0.1 Hz to 0.6 Hz, in 0.1 Hz steps. Four PPG derived respiratory (PDR) signals were extracted from each one of the recorded PPG signals: pulse rate variability (PRV), pulse width variability (PWV), pulse amplitude variability (PAV) and the respiratory- induced intensity variability (RIIV). Respiratory rate was estimated from each one of the 4 PDR signals for both PPG sensor locations. In addition, different combinations of PDR signals, power distribution of the respiratory frequency range and differences of the morphological parameters extracted from both PPG signals have been analysed. Main results: results show a better performance in terms of successful estimation and relative error when: i) PPG signal is recorded in the finger; ii) the respiratory rate is less than 0.4 Hz; iii) RIIV signal is not considered. Furthermore, lower spectral power around the respiratory rate in the PDR signals recorded from the forehead was observed. Significance: these results suggest that respiratory rate estimation is better at lower rates (0.4 Hz and below) and that finger is better than forehead to estimate respiratory rate

Real-time detection of riboflavin production by Lactobacillus plantarum strains and tracking of their gastrointestinal survival and functionality in vitro and in vivo using mCherry labeling

Some strains of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) produce riboflavin, a water-soluble vitamin of the B complex, essential for human beings. Here, we have evaluated riboflavin (B2 vitamin) production by five Lactobacillus plantarum strains isolated from chicha, a traditional maize-based fermented alcoholic beverage from north-western Argentina and their isogenic riboflavin-overproducing derivatives previously selected using roseoflavin. A direct fluorescence spectroscopic detection method to quantify riboflavin production in bacterial culture supernatants has been tested. Comparison of the efficiency for riboflavin fluorescence quantification with and without prior HPLC fractionation showed that the developed method is a rapid and easy test for selection of B2 vitamin-producing strains. In addition, it can be used for quantitative detection of the vitamin production in real time during bacterial growth. On the basis of this and previous analyses, the L. plantarum M5MA1-B2 riboflavin overproducer was selected for in vitro and in vivo studies after being fluorescently labeled by transfer of the pRCR12 plasmid, which encodes the mCherry protein. The labeling did not affect negatively the growth, the riboflavin production nor the adhesion of the strain to Caco-2 cells. Thus, L. plantarum M5MA1-B2[pRCR12] was evaluated for its survival under digestive tract stresses in the presence of microbiota in the dynamic multistage BFBL gut model and in a murine model. After exposure to both models, M5MA1-B2[pRCR12] could be recovered and detected by the pink color of the colonies. The results indicated a satisfactory resistance of the strain to gastric and intestinal stress conditions but a low colonization capability observed both in vitro and in vivo. Overall, L. plantarum M5MA1-B2 could be proposed as a probiotic strain for the development of functional foods.Fil: Mohedano, Mari Luz. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas; EspañaFil: Hernández Recio, Sara. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas; EspañaFil: Yépez, Alba. Universidad de Valencia; EspañaFil: Requena, Teresa. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias de la Alimentación; EspañaFil: Martínez Cuesta, M. Carmen. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias de la Alimentación; EspañaFil: Peláez, Carmen. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias de la Alimentación; EspañaFil: Russo, Pasquale. Università di Foggia; ItaliaFil: Leblanc, Jean Guy Joseph. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Centro de Referencia para Lactobacilos; ArgentinaFil: Spano, Giuseppe. Università di Foggia; ItaliaFil: Aznar, Rosa. Universidad de Valencia; España. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto de Agroquímica y Tecnología de Alimentos; EspañaFil: López, Paloma. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas; Españ

Photoplethysmographic Waveform Versus Heart Rate Variability to Identify Low Stress States. Attention Test

Our long-term goal is the development of an automatic identifier of attentional states. In order to accomplish it, we should firstly be able to identify different states based on physiological signals. So, the first aim of this work is to identify the most appropriate features, to detect a subject high performance state. For that, a database of electrocardiographic (ECG) and photopletysmographic (PPG) signals is recorded in two unequivocally defined states (rest and attention task) from up to 50 subjects as a sample of the population. Time and frequency parameters of heart/pulse rate variability have been computed from the ECG/PPG signals respectively. Additionally, the respiratory rate has been estimated from both signals and also six morphological parameters from PPG. In total, twenty six features are obtained for each subject. They provide information about the autonomic nervous system and the physiological response of the subject to an attention demand task. Results show an increase of sympathetic activation when the subjects perform the attention test. The amplitude and width of the PPG pulse were more sensitive that the classical sympathetic markers (normalised power in LF and LF/HF ratio) for identifying this attentional state. State classification accuracy reaches a mean of 89 $\pm$ 2%, a maximum of 93% and a minimum of 85%, in the hundred classifications made by only selecting four parameters extracted from the PPG signal (pulse amplitude, pulse width, pulse downward slope and mean pulse rate). These results suggest that attentional states could be identified by PPG

Antifungal Activity against Aspergillus parasiticus of Supernatants from Whey Permeates Fermented with Kefir Grains

Aspergillus parasiticus, a common fungal contaminant in food, produces aflatoxin B1, which is classified as human carcinogen. Kefir is an ancient fermented beverage obtained by the fermentation of different substrates with kefir grains. A very important waste produced by the dairy cheese industry is the whey permeate, which nowadays is a strong ambient contaminant. The aim of this work was to assess the effect of whey permeates fermented with kefir grains against A. parasiticus growth, aflatoxin B1 biosynthesis, and the kefir microorganisms protection against the cell damage produced by aflatoxin B1. It was observed that kefir-cell-free-supernatants (CFS) produced fungal inhibition. A fungicidal effect was observed with 65% v/v of CFS in the culture medium (final pH 4.55 and total undissociated lactic and acetic acid concentration 34.08 mM). Under these conditions, aflatoxin production was not detected. Finally, it was found that non-viable kefir microorganisms protected HepG2 cells from the damage produced by aflatoxin B1